One Song, Two Different Copyright Lawsuits

It's one thing for a singer to get sued for copyright infringement over a smash hit. It's another to get sued twice, by two different groups of artists, over the same song. This is the fate of Dua Lipa, reports People. Last week, the Florida reggae group Artikal Sound System filed suit, alleging that Lipa's "Levitating" from 2020 ripped off their 2017 song “Live Your Life." This week, songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer filed a suit of their own, alleging that "Levitating" ripped off their 1979 song "Wiggle and Giggle All Night." You can compare all three songs for yourself: "Levitating," "Wiggle and Giggle All Night," and "Live Your Life."

"Levitating" rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 68 weeks on the charts in all, per Billboard. “In seeking nostalgic inspiration, defendants copied plaintiffs’ creation without attribution,” the more recent accusers say in their lawsuit. The case also named Warner Music Group and collaborator DaBaby as defendants. One odd twist: Brown and Linzer say "Levitating" also stole from another of their songs, "Don Diablo," which came out in 1980. They obtained the latter song after successfully arguing that it infringed on "Wiggle and Giggle All Night," per Rolling Stone. Dua Lipa had not commented on the allegations as of Monday afternoon. (More Dua Lipa stories.)